Police identify 57-year-old woman as the victim of NYC fatal subway burning

(CNN) — The woman who was killed when a man intentionally set fire to her while she was sleeping on a New York City subway train earlier this month has been identified as Debrina Kawam, police said.

The 57-year-old woman resided in New Jersey, the New York Police Department told CNN. Police initially said Kawam was 61.

The New York City Office of the Medical Examiner determined the woman died by homicide caused by thermal injuries and smoke inhalation, according to a complaint filed in Brooklyn Criminal Court.

Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, a 33-year-old undocumented migrant accused of killing Kawam, was indicted Friday on charges of first- and second-degree murder and arson. He has yet to enter a plea and is due to be arraigned January 7.

During his initial court appearance, Zapeta-Calil claimed to have no knowledge of the incident, noting his alcohol consumption. Zapeta-Calil did identify himself in photos related to the attack, said Assistant District Attorney Ari Rottenberg.

CNN has reached out to Zapeta-Calil’s attorney for comment.

Police say Zapeta-Calil calmly walked up to Kawam on the morning of December 22, as she was sleeping on an F train approaching the Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue subway station in Brooklyn, and used a lighter to ignite her clothes and the blanket that was wrapped around her.

Kawam had a “brief stint” in the city’s shelter system and officials have spoken to her next of kin, Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday at a news conference.

“People should not be living on our subway system. They should be in a place of care,” Adams told CNN’s Mark Morales. “And no matter where she lived, that should not have happened.”

Authorities took over a week to publicly identify Kawam. Investigators were using advanced fingerprinting and DNA evidence to try to identify her “badly burned” body, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said last week.

The victim was initially believed to have been homeless, which complicated efforts to identify her, law enforcement sources previously told CNN.

The latest subway attack in the city occurred on Tuesday afternoon, when a 45-year-old man waiting for the 1 train was shoved by an assailant into an oncoming train, a law enforcement official told CNN.

First responders raced to the scene and found the victim with a head injury and a broken rib, the official said. He was taken to Bellevue hospital where he’s expected to survive, the official said.

The attacker was later taken into custody and is expected to soon be charged in connection with the subway push, the official said.

Adams spoke on Tuesday at his weekly news briefing about the perception of danger on the subway, touting there are only six daily crimes on the subway that also has four million daily riders.

“If someone is burned in the subway system and you tell them that crime is down the lowest since 2009 — take away the Covid years when no one was on the system — people don’t want to hear that,” said Adams.

“If someone is shoved to the subway system — on the tracks — people are seeing and feeling what they’re reading,” Adams said. “So, our success is overshadowed.”

Suspect faces life without parole if convicted

Surveillance video of the incident – which appeared to show Zapeta-Calil sitting on a bench across from the subway car and watching Kawan burn – played a critical role in helping police find a suspect.

Hours after the attack, authorities released images from surveillance and police body cameras, and three high school students recognized the suspect and reported it to police, who found Zapeta-Calil on a subway train in Midtown Manhattan about eight hours later. He was found with a lighter in his pocket, NYPD Chief of Transit Joseph Gulotta said.

“These are significant counts,” Gonzalez said of the charges. “Murder in the first degree carries the possibility of life without parole. It’s the most serious statute in New York state law and my office is very confident about the evidence in the case and to hold Zapeta accountable for his dastardly deeds.”

Zapeta-Calil, an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala, had been deported in 2018 and subsequently returned to the US illegally, according to federal immigration authorities. His most recent address in an arrest report was listed as a homeless shelter in Brooklyn for men struggling with substance abuse, the New York City Police Department said.

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CNN’s Mark Morales, Hanna Park, Gloria Pazmino, Sabrina Shulman, Jeff Winter and Eric Levenson contributed to this report.